Antec P280 Case Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging3. Antec P280 Exterior4. Antec P280 Interior5. Testing Methodology and Performance6. Acoustic performance7. Closing thoughts8. View All Pages

Today we are looking at the latest offering in the Antec Performance One lineup … the P280 chassis. We have reviewed many Antec cases in the past and have generally been impressed with their combination of cooling efficiency, build quality and wide ranging component support.

Antec are marketing the sleek looking P280 case as a low noise solution for a hard core, high performance system build. Can it deliver the goods?

Key Features

• 9 expansion slots and ability to house XL-ATX motherboards
• 2 front panel USB 3.0 ports
• Advanced cooling system: Includes 3 fans and 4 additional fan mounts
• Dual-layer design: 0.8 mm steel / polycarbonate side panels deaden noise
• 6 quiet 3.5” / 2.5” drive bays utilize trays with preinstalled silicone grommets
• Triple-layer (aluminum, plastic, foam) front bezel with double-hinged door: opens up to 270°
• Grommet-lined cable routing holes with 30 mm of space behind the motherboard tray
• 3 tool-less 5.25” drive bays
• PSU intake & front air filters

Specifications

MODEL	P280
CASE TYPE	Super Mid Tower
Color(s)	Black with gunmetal anodized aluminum front door
Cooling system	• 2 x 120 mm top TwoCool™ exhaust fans • 1 x 120 mm rear TwoCool™ exhaust fan • 2 x 120 mm internal intake fans (optional) • 2 x 120 mm front intake fans (optional) • Fan power hub allows you to connect four 3-pin fans to a single Molex for improved cable management
Drive Bays	• 3 x 5.25” tool-less drive bays • 2 x 2.5” drive bays (dedicated) • 6 x 3.5” / 2.5” drive trays
Front Ports	2 x USB 3.0 with internal motherboard connector 2 x USB 2.0 Audio In/Out
Expansion Slots / video card size	• 9 expansion slots • Maximum video card size: 13” / 330 mm
Maximum CPU Cooler Height	6.7″ / 170 mm
Motherboard Support	XL-ATX [13.6” x 10.3” (345 mm x 262 mm)], Standard ATX, microATX, Mini-ITX
CPU Cutout	Enlarged CPU cutout
Cable Management	30 mm of cable routing space behind motherboard tray
Dimensions	• Unit Dimensions: – 526 mm (H) x 231 mm (W) x 562 mm (D) -20.7” (H) x 9.1” (W) x 22.1” (D) • Package Dimensions: -575 mm (H) x 290 mm (W) x 630 mm (D) -22.6” (H) x 11.4” (W) x 24.8” (D)

The Antec P280 ships in a sturdy corrugated cardboard outer shell that is prominently black with a yellow stripe. The front side of the packaging sports a frontal view of the P280 while the reverse  has several images that define the features available in the P280.

The side panels showcase images of the P280 Super Mid Tower, ideal for a retail store environment.

After removing the contents from the box we find the P280 protected by two molded pieces of Styrofoam and a plastic cover that shields the exterior against scuffing.

The exterior of the P280 is undeniably attractive and instantly recognisable as an Antec design. The chassis has reinforced solid side panels (Antec call them ‘Quiet Computing Panels') to help reduce noise emissions. We like the stylish brushed aluminum front door.

The front door opens a full 270 degrees allowing it to sit flush against the side panel. It does not interfere with the front inputs in any way, positioned at the top of the front panel.

The lower half of the front panel has a removable dust filter which opens to reveal an installation position for two optional 120mm front intake fans. We would have expected Antec to populate one of these positions ‘out of the box', but sadly not.

The rear panel of the Antec P280 is a traditional, modern configuration. The power supply is positioned at the bottom, with nine expansion slots above it. To the right are two holes to allow for a watercooling configuration. These holes are protected by a rubber grommet, to avoid any abrasion of the tubes.  The top panel is very simple, comprising a Power and Reset button at the front and two x 120mm fans at the rear.

The bottom of the case consists of a solid panel and raised feet with a ventilated panel underneath the power supply. This area holds a removable dust filter that can be cleaned easily when needed. There are four large feet that elevate the chassis high enough to allow the power supply to intake cold air from the outside.

The very spacious interior of the Antec P280 is painted entirely black.  There are six removable drive bays for either SSD drives or standard hard drives. There is a large area cutout of the motherboard tray to provide access to the back of the motherboard.  This large cutout makes it very easy to swap out cooling options when needed.

Our second image shows us the connections that attach to the motherboard. These connections provide power to the essentials such as On/Off, Reset, HD Led, USB 2.0 and 3.0 and HD Audio.

Antec mentioned before publication that people who purchase this case or the new 1100 can get a free adapter that make the two USB 3.0 ports function as USB 2.0 ports. This adapter will make sure users get access to all 4 front USB ports if their motherboard does not offer native USB 3.0 support.

Turning to the opposite side of the chassis we can see there is plenty of space to route cables. Antec have provided 30mm of space for this purpose.

As mentioned earlier, the P280 design allows for a bottom mounted power supply.  There is a removable dust filter that sits beneath the power supply that can be easily removed when it needs to be cleaned.  Due to the size of the Antec P280 you may want to ensure that the cables on your power supply are long enough. We were unable to hide our 8pin connector behind the board because of the short nature of the cable on this particular unit.

The P280 has 6 removable drive trays. Each of them is designed to hold an SSD drive or a standard 3.5 inch hard drive.  The trays have rubber mounts on them to reduce any unwanted vibrations.

The 3 x 5.25″ drive bays are designed to be tool free. It is as simple as pulling the tab to release the locking mechanism, then sliding the drive into the empty space. Finally depressing the tab on the locking mechanism secures the drive in place.

Inside there are three x 120mm fans included. There are two located in the top panel and one located in the rear panel.  All three fans are configured to exhaust air out of the P280. As a member of their Performance One range, it seems an oversight for Antec not to include a single intake fan as a default install option.

The fans are controlled by a small built in fan controller. This unit requires a molex connection to supply power to the fans. This item is poorly placed as it can be difficult to access after other components are installed.

The rear panel of the P280, after the system build is completed. The fan controller allows us to choose either low or high speed operation for each of the three fans that are installed in the factory.

It is worth noting that cable length should be considered when building a system in this chassis.  The power supply we used has relatively short cables which prevented us from hiding the 8pin cable in behind the motherboard tray.  An extender cable could be supplied by Antec to help users who would like to comfortably route the cables behind the motherboard plate.

To test the Antec P280 we will be using the AMD Phenom X4 FX-5000 CPU matched with a Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H motherboard.  We are sticking with the reference AMD cooler to cool the CPU.

Test System

Chassis: Antec P280 Super Mid Tower
Processor: AMD Phenom X4 FX-5000
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H
Cooler: AMD reference heatpipe cooler
Memory: 3GB DDR2
Storage: Segate 150 GB Sata II
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2-430W
Graphics Card: HIS Radeon 5570

The stock cooling does an adequate job but could be improved. The addition of even a single front intake fan should lower temperatures of our internal components.

We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built our test system to be as quiet as possible. We can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate specifically on the individual components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.

Today to test the chassis we have taken it into our acoustics room and have set our Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2 one meter away from the case.  This represents a real world situation and gives us an accurate reading of the noise level produced by the fans in the Antec P280 Super Mid Tower.

As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

We are using a passively cooled HIS 5570 graphics card.

The P280 is a very quiet chassis registering below 30dBA in our acoustic testing.  There is no intake fan at the front which helps lower noise emissions, but the Antec branded ‘Quiet Computing Panels' really do seem to work.

Our time spent with the Antec P280 Super Mid Tower produced mainly positive, yet slightly mixed feelings. For the most part the P280 is a well designed chassis and the build quality is without reproach.  The exterior appearance is immediately recognisable as an Antec design, which is not a bad thing.

They have made improvements to the front door allowing a 270 degree rotation, so that it can sit flush against the side panel and not get in the way. The dust filters on the front are very convenient and extremely easy to remove, as is the filter that sits beneath the power supply.

We are disappointed with the cooling configuration ‘out of the box'. Considering the P280 is part of the Performance One lineup, we would expect at least one intake fan to aid with the cooling process.  The fans they do supply connect to a small (yet hard to access) fan controller that requires a molex connector for power. The fans can be switched between low and high speed which is handy, but we feel the placement of the controller could have been more convenient.

If you are looking for a quiet case then the P280 will make an excellent choice as the three fans registered under 30 dBA in our acoustic testing.  The Dual-layer design: 0.8 mm steel / polycarbonate side panels are exceptionally well engineered and help reduce annoying fan noise, even from a close distance. Antec have also made improvements to the triple-layer (aluminum, plastic, foam) front bezel.  The door is double-hinged and opens up to 270° resting flush against the side panel.

The overall build quality is impressive, both inside and out.

Pros

• spacious interior.
• good cable routing options.
• top notch sound dampening.
• plenty of cooling options.
• great appearance.

Cons

• no front fans included.
• awkward placement of fan controller.

The Antec P280 retails for $139 in Canada at NCIX which is a good price point for this chassis. Amazon stock the case for £119.99 in the United Kingdom.

Kitguru says: Because of the price and overall potential of the P280 we have no problem recommending this chassis and consider it a product “Worth Buying”.

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